Bottle vending machine



y 6, 1940. c. v. RICE 2,207,820

BOTTLE VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1'7, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l lllllll July 16, 1940. c. v. RICE BOTTLE VENDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1958 INVENTOR, Ca/-/ V. Eme- ATTORNEYS- July 16, 1940. c. v. RICE 2,207,820

BOTTLE VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1'7, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR, 54/ K F/ae,

L9. BY

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE z.201,a2o-

mumii az iimlazo. 190,914

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a selective bottle vending machine particularly designed for dispensing bottled beverages of different kinds, upon the depositing of a coin in the machine.

5 The principal object of the invention is the provision of a vending machine wherein the articles to be vended may be selectively positioned relative to the delivery opening and then made accessible upon depositing a coin in the 10 machine and moving the closure, for the delivery opening, to the open position.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means to prevent-the rotation of the article carrier when the parts are positioned to 15 permit the removal of one of the bottles.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, ease of operation, and adaptability for use in dispensing bottles of different heights and diameters.

wherein:

Figure l is a central transverse section of a selective bottle vending machine embodying this invention.

25 Fig. 2 is a segmental plan view of certain of the operating parts.

Fig. 3 is a plan view partially broken away, of the bottle carrying rack.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 30 IV-IV of Fig. 2. I

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the coin mechanism and some of the associated parts.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing certain of the coin operating parts.

35 Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the operating pawl.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 5.'

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of -a portion of the 40 coin operating slide bar; and,

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view of dog H2 and its associated parts.

Throughout the several views like reference characters refer to similar parts and the nu- 45 meral l designates a refrigerating container having insulated side walls l2, bottom l4 and an open top provided with a fixed-cover member it, having a delivery opening l3 adjacent one side thereof, and a hinged closure 23. This con- 50 tainer is adapted to receive a refrigerant, such as ice, to maintain the vendible articles contained therein, at a desirable temperature.

Mounted for horizontal rotation in container II is an article carrier or rack 22, comprising a 65 series of vertically spaced apart discs 24, 23, 28

20 Reference will now be had to the drawings and 30, concentrically mounted on spindle 32, which is vertically disposed and mounted in an opening 34 formed in cross bar 36,. which is carried by side walls l2.

Discs 24, 26 and 28 are each provided with two concentric series of bottle receiving wells 33 produced by forming concentric, circular openings 39 through said discs, whereby a bottle B may be vertically disposed therein with the bottom thereof, resting on the lower disc 33. Disc 30 is slidably mounted on spindle 32 for vertical movement so as to properly position bottles of different heights. The set screw 40 in hub 42 of disc 30 serves to secure the disc in fixed relation to the spindle. Bottles positioned in the two series of wells are adapted to be rotated to pass directly beneath the delivery opening II, which is in radial alignment with the axis of rotation of the article carrier.

Insome instances, bottles of different heights and diameters are vended in the same machine, and it becomes necessary to make provision for maintaining the tops of all bottles in substantially the same horizontal plane. In Fig. 1, it will be noted that a pop bottle B is shown at the left and a milk bottle M, at the right. It will also be noted that the openings in discs 24 and 26 are of a diameter slightly larger than the diameter .of the pop bottleand substantially the same size as the diameter of the milk bottle. The opening 39 in disc 28 is slightly smaller than those in 24 and 26, and will snugly receive the lower end of bottle B but will preclude the insertion of bottle M, thus when bottle M is positioned in the article carrying member, it will rest on the intermediate disc 28 while the longer bottles B will rest on the bottom plate 30. When so positioned, the tops of the bottles will be in substantially horizontal alignment.

The upper end of spindle 32 terminates in a socket 44 having an axially disposed opening 46 and a diametrically positioned slot 48 into which the lower end of operating rod 50 and a. transversely' disposed key 52 respectively engage. This operating rod 50 extends upwardly through a plate 54 mounted! on top of cover member l6, and is provided at its upper end with an operating hand-hold 56. By simply grasping 56 and turning the same, the article carrying rack will be rotated to move the bottles contained therein, below the delivery opening where they are visible through the transparent window 53 in closure 20. By this means, it is very evident that any bottle in either of the series of -wells may be moved to the delivery position at the 55 will 01 the operator. when so positioned, they may be delivered from the machine, as hereinafter explained.

The closure 26 is hinged at 66, and is provided with an integral radially disposed lug 62 to which is pivotaily secured an operating bar 64. The outer end of operating bar 64 is pivotally connected with a slide bar 66 so that as the door is moved to and from the open position, said slide bar will be reciprocated through a definite path of travel.

In order to prevent rotation of the article carrier through the delivery opening when the closure is moved to the open position, the 01- lowing mechanism is provided:

A notched wheel 66 is securely attached to operating rod 56 Just above the plate 64. The notches in 68 are equally spaced to correspond with the relative spacing of the bottles contained within the carrier. An arm 16 pivotally mounted at I2 to plate 54, extends forwardly in substantially tangential relation with the periphery of wheel 68 so that the tooth I4 positioned on the underside thereof, will register with the notches I6 in wheel 68. The pivoted arm I6 is provided with an irregular cam slot I8 into which is fitted a pin 66 carried by the operating bar 64. Pin 66 is so related to the cam slot I8 that when the closure 26 is in the closed position, arm I6 will be in the raised position and tooth I4 will be out of engagement with notches 16.

When the closure 26 is slightly raised, and before it would be possible to remove a bottle through the delivery opening, the pin 66 will engage the quick acting portion 82 of cam slot I6 so as to lower arm I6 and position tooth I4 in one of the notches 16. The tooth 14 is slightly tapered at its end portion, as are also the teeth formed between the notches I6 thereby facilitating easy insertion of the tooth in said notches whenever any one of the selected bottles is in proper alignment with the delivery opening. Should the bottle be slightly out of alignment, the action of tooth I4 would tend to slightly rotate the carrier and properly position the bottle for delivery. It will be observed that the arc spacing of each of the notches I6 is identical with the arc spacing of the wells for receiving the bottles thereby insuring a registering of the bottle with the delivery opening regardless of sequence of delivery.

The inner portion 84 of cam slot I8 is so constructed as to maintain the tooth I4 in a fixed position relative to notches 16 during the major portion of the opening and closing operation of closure 26.

The closure 26 is normally held in the closed position by means of a mechanism releasable by means of a coin deposited therein. The slide bar 66 is provided with longitudinal slots 66 through which extend the guide pins 68 which are secured to the coin slot housing 96. This slide bar is.

normally urged to its outer position by means of a spring 62 which is attached to slide bar 66 at 94 and to plate 54 at 96. This spring 92, due to the interconnected relation of slide bar 66 with operating bar 64 and closure 26, tends to normally maintain said closure in the closed position.

Gravity pawl 96 normally rests against the ratchet tooth I66 formed in the upper edge portion of slide bar 66 to maintain the closure 26 in its closed position. Pawl 98 is provided at its free end with offset end portions I62 and I64, I62 being in alignment with the upper portion of slide bar 66 and end portion I64 being positioned at the side thereof, and adapted to engage the periphery of a coin I66 deposited in the recess I66 formed on the inner side of slide bar 66.

As clearly shown in Fig. 6, the pawl end portion I64 is so positioned relative to the deposited coin that it will rest against the periphery 01' said coin and be raised upwardly as the slide bar 66 is moved rearwardly by the action of the closure 26, so as to lift the end portion I62 otpawl 66 from its engagement with ratchet tooth I66 so that slide bar 66 may be moved inwardly to permit the opening of closure 26. Provision Is made for preventing a partial movement of slide bar 66 in one direction and return. In other words, when bar 66 has been moved a suflicient distance to allow closure 26 to be opened far enough to permit the removal of a bottle, bar 66 cannot be moved backwardly until it has reached the end of its normal path of travel. This is accomplished by means of the following mechanism:

A series of notches II6 are formed on the top edge of slide-bar 66 and are adapted to be engaged by means of a dog II2 which is normally held in the vertical position by means of a tension spring II4. When the bar 66 is in the outward position, the dog H2 is positioned beyond the inner end of the series of notches and as the bar is moved inwardly, dog II2 will be tilted so that one corner thereof will drop into the diflerent notches of the series, see Fig. 10, so as to preclude any reverse movement or bar 66 until the bar has been moved a suflicient distance for dog II2 to clear said notches and again be positioned vertically so that when movement 01' bar 66 is reversed, dog I I2 will be tilted in the reverse direction and ride over the notches to prevent a reverse movement of said bar until it has reached the end of its inner stroke. This mechanism precludes any possible chance of obtaining the delivery of a bottle and reversing the machinev before it has been fully operated in an eflort to obtain another bottle without depositing a second coin.

In order to prevent undue slack movement of the slide bar 66, due to the fact that dog II2 requires a slight distance to right itself after leaving the series of notches II6, a tooth H6 is provided in advance of tooth I66. This tooth H6 is spaced apart a sumcient distance from tooth I66 to insure the righting of dog II2 while pawl projection I 62 is in position to engage tooth II6. This mechanism together with the pawl and associated notches, will insure a constant control of the direction of travel of slide bar 66 and preclude any possible chance oi! continuous operation of the closure 26 to permit the delivery of more than one bottle for each coin inserted.

The coin slot housing 66 is of a standard type provided with a slot II8 into which the coin is deposited and permitted to fall by gravity until it is positioned in recess I66 where it rests on ledge I26, thereby giving it a solid foundation during the time that pawl 66 is being moved to the raised position. As slide bar 66 is moved inwardly, coin I66 will be moved inwardly to register with slot I22, through which it will be delivered to any suitable receptacle. Any of the well-known devices for detecting slugs, etc., may be included in the coin slot. r

The mechanism carried by plate 54 with the exception of the closure 26, will be suitably covered to prevent any tampering therewith.

In the operation of this machine, the customer grasps the hand-hold 50 and rotates the article carrier until the article desired is positioned directly below the transparent window 58. He then drops a coin in coin slot H0 and lifts the closure 20 by means of the finger hold I 24. The coin will be lodged in recess I00 and resting on ledge I20 so that as the coin is moved rearwardly, it will engage portion I 04 of the dog 08 to prevent the engagement of teeth I00 and 6 by pawl end I02, thereby permitting a free movement of the door to the fully open position. Upon releasing said hand-hold, the closure 20 will be returned to its closed position by the action of spring 02, then the machine will be in position for another similar operation.

It is apparent that by the use of this machine a customer may first select the desired article from a plurality of articles by merely rotating the article carrier. Furthermore, during the delivery of said selected article, the carrier will be definitely locked against rotation to prevent the removal of more than one bottle at each opening of the closure.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

In a machine of the character described a container having a dispensing opening in the top thereof; an article container mounted for normal free rotation on a spindle in said container; an operating rod operatively interconnected with said spindle and extending outwardly from said container, whereby it may be manually operated to rotate said article container to selectively position articles carried on said article con; tainer in alignment beneath said dispensing opening; a closure member hinged to said container and normally secured in closed position with respect to said dispensing opening; coin control means operable by said closure member during the first portion of its movement toward the open position to first release said closure member and to secure said operating rod against movement; and means associated with and operable by said first named means" to prevent the closing of said closure member until it has been first moved to a predetermined fully open position.

CARL V. RICE. 

